|
Blackburn Community Association
|
| |
|
BCA Election Results
The Blackburn Community Association is pleased to announce the results from this year’s Annual General Meeting elections. We welcome Camille-Emmanuelle Purchase, Kyle Humphrey, Robert Long and Shirley Sheppard who will be joining Miriam Hampson, Don Kelly, Brent Lawrie, Lynn Lefevre, Lisa Margeson, Jeff Miller, Mélanie Mathieu, David Purchase, Nina Ryan, Satinder Sahota and Barbara Whittaker on the 2025-2026 BCA Board.
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to departing board members Shashank Iyer and Jenny Lawrence for all their efforts to enhance our wonderful community.
2024 was an amazing year for the BCA and are confident that 2025 will be even better!
Jaclyn O’Shaughnessy, Mélanie Mathieu, Kyle Humphrey, Nina Ryan, Camille-Emmanuelle Purchase, David Purchase, Jeff Miller, Barbara Whittaker, Lynn Lefevre, Steve Vesely, Lisa Margeson, Robert Long, Shirley Sheppard, Brent Lawrie, Tammy Bedard, Don Kelly |
| |
|
Seniors Breakfast Get-together - Halibut House
When: Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Where: Halibut House, 2672 Innes Road
Blackburn Seniors (55+) are invited to gather for a great meal, wonderful conversation and lots of laughs.
Ample parking is available. Guests are welcome.
Donations of non-perishable items for the Lifecentre Foodbank would be appreciated.
Please RSVP to Shirley at 613-841-7691 by Monday, March 31st. |
| |
|
Community Closet - Adult Clothing
 Is your closet bringing you joy? Ready for a wardrobe refresh while supporting sustainable fashion?
Join us for the Spring Community Closet Event, hosted by the Blackburn Community Association’s Environment Committee! This event is for adults looking to swap and refresh their wardrobes sustainably.
When: Saturday, April 12, 2025
Where: Blackburn Community Hall, 190 Glen Park Drive
Discover a variety of free, pre-loved adult clothing just waiting for a new home—yours! Bring your friends, family, and neighbours for a day of community, sustainability, and style.
To ensure an inclusive experience, we invite participants to attend during the following time slots:
- 9AM – 11AM: Seniors+
- 11AM – 1PM: Families
- 1PM – 4:30PM: Open to All
Want to contribute? We’re accepting gently used adult clothing donations (no accessories, shoes, or undergarments) on April 10th from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM at the Blackburn Community Hall.
Let’s come together to refresh our closets and reduce waste—one swap at a time! See you there!
For more information or to volunteer to help, please email enviro@blackburnhamlet.ca. |
| |
Youth & Teen Sewing
No sewing experience? No problem. Come try out this useful skill and see how fun it can be to learn how to make your own knot bag, zippered pouch, and clothes! You can also bring your own project and the instructor Sophie will be your guide to help you complete it. These sessions are free and no materials are required.
Sophie is a bilingual sewing instructor, Mom of four, volunteer Scouts animator and PTA-Mom.
YOU MUST register in advance by emailing seyseysophie@gmail.com.
Location: Blackburn Community Hall, 190 Glen Park Drive
Dates:
- Sunday April 13th, 3pm -5pm
- Sunday May 25th, 3pm – 5pm
|
| |
|
Seniors Walk-and-Talk Outings are Back!
 Now that the snow and ice are clearing, we are pleased to announce that we will be resuming the seniors walks in April.
Please mark your calendars and join other avid walkers at the Bearbrook Road stoplight entrance to Isaiah Scharfe Park (Bush Park) at 1:00 PM on the following dates:
- Wednesday, April 16, 2025
- Wednesday, May 14, 2025
- Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Walking routes will vary and walkers have the option to do a shorter 2 km route or a longer 4 km route.
Walks will proceed rain or shine. Should the weather be unexpectedly bad, please check the BCA Facebook group for updates. |
| |
|
BCA Board Meeting
 When: Thursday, April 17, 2025, 7:30pm to 10pm
Where: Blackburn Community Hall, 190 Glen Park Drive
This in-person meeting is open to residents of Blackburn Hamlet in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Email secretary@blackburnhamlet.ca for more information. |
| |
|
April Discovery Café
When: Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Where: Blackburn Community Hall, 190 Glen Park Drive
Mark your calendars for this month`s Discovery Café session. Raymond Leury, President of the Electric Vehicle Council of Ottawa will be giving a presentation on Electric Vehicles. This presentation will cover the basics of EV ownership including charging, long distance travel and performance in hot and cold weather. We will also dispel some common myths that are circulated in mainstream and social media.
Questions & Suggestions? Please email barbara@blackburnhamlet.ca. |
| |
|
2025 Spring Cleanup
When: Saturday April 26th at 9:30 a.m.
Rain date: Sunday April 27th at 9:30 a.m.
Location: Blackburn Community Hall, 190 Glen Park Drive
Along with many other communities of the Ottawa area, the Blackburn Community Association holds an annual Spring Clean-Up. Please volunteer to help us out; we will assign you a small area of Blackburn for litter pick-up plus provide you with garbage bags and latex gloves. The litter and recyclables can be brought back to the Community Hall. This event runs on April 26th from 9:30 to 11:30 in the morning. Volunteers are then invited to a BBQ (including vegetarian options) to say thanks for all your ‘dirty’ work. All ages are welcome!
Spring Clean-Up is more than just picking up litter—it’s about fostering community pride, protecting our environment, and creating a cleaner, healthier space for everyone to enjoy. So let’s welcome the warmer months with a fresh start and make this year’s Spring Clean-Up the best one yet! Together, we can make a big difference.
If you have any questions or would like to help with the event, contact the BCA Environment Committee at: cleanup@blackburnhamlet.ca. |
| |
|
New Ways to Bus
New Ways to Bus are coming to Ottawa on Sunday, April 27! OC Transpo's new bus network will focus on frequency, local service in your neighbourhood, and connections to key destinations.
There will be some minor changes to route 25 and route 28 will be replaced with an extended route 24. Please note that the 24 will no longer provide service on Tauvette, Cleroux, Ridgeburn and Northpark. There will also be a direct connection between Blackburn Hamlet and Blair Station during peak hours via route 226, which will include all stops along the regular route 24, but will run on directly down the 174 to Blair station.
If you have any questions or want to learn more about the New Ways to Bus there will be an online (Zoom) information session on Tuesday, April 15 at 7 pm. If you wish you attend, Please register at https://zoom.us/meeting/register/IZK60dr1R6e2FfkSEt-Paw to attend this session. You can also find additional information on the OCTranspo Website. |
| |
|
Community Garage Sale
Were you inspired to declutter your home this winter, but have yet to have a chance to get rid of everything due to all the snow? Now is your chance to pass these items along, hoping they may ‘spark joy’ in someone else, and make some extra cash in the meantime! Or maybe you’ve been searching for a great deal on something that will make you smile and help keep our landfills, well, not full. Join the fun with our annual community garage sale Saturday, May 3 from 8am to 2pm, rain or shine.
Hamlet residents do not need to register or sign up – simply put out a table and join in! As we have done in past years, we will be assembling an unofficial map of participating houses. If you would like your house to be included, please let us know at garagesale@blackburnhamlet.ca.
Please keep visiting the BCA website Garage Sale Page for more up-to-date information as it becomes available.
Think green! Help minimize what goes in the trash. |
| |
|
Used Folding Table Sale!
The BCA recently replaced many of our aging 6' long and 3' square tables in the Hall and are now selling the old tables in time for the Community Garage Sale. There are 23 x 3' square folding tables for sale at a cost of $20 each and seven x 6' centre fold tables for sale at a cost of $40 each.
The tables are well used, but are still functional. You can claim your table in advance by emailing safety@blackburnhamlet.ca or stop by the Rink Warming Hut behind the Norman Johnston School, 2401 Cléroux Crescent, on Saturday April 12 between 10am and 2pm.
All sale proceeds will be donated to the Lifecentre Food Bank.
|
| |
|
FunFair Corner
Save the date! This year's FunFair runs from June 6th to 8th.
50/50 Raffle
Last year's winner won over $500! Support your local community by purchasing entries to our 50/50 Funfair Raffle at the QR code below.
Barrelhouse Beatles Tribute
Funfair organizers are excited to announce that our Saturday evening headline act will be Barrelhouse - Beatles Tribute. Come groove to their note for note performance of the Abbey Road Album and other Beatles hits. Get a $5 discount with online tickets purchased before the fair at the QR below.
Volunteers
Thank you to the many first-time volunteers who have responded to our call for volunteers. The Funfair committee wholeheartedly thanks you. We are still looking for:
- a coordinator to help with food on fair weekend
- adults to supervise inflatables and help take tickets on fair weekend
- SmartServe certified adults who can help with tickets and/or bartend on fair weekend
Questions and comments welcome! Reach out to the fair committee at chair@blackburnfunfair.ca. |
| |
|
New Hall Appliances!
The BCA would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to William Hewitt, Lisa Wyman and the Lois Kemp Arena staff who went above and beyond our wildest expectations.
When the door on our 20-year-old oven broke without warning, we discovered that replacement parts were no longer available. Not only did William and Lisa quickly step up and order a new oven, they also replaced the old fridge and microwave at the same time at no cost to the BCA!
We greatly appreciate their support of the BCA. |
| |
|
BCA Showcase
Over the past year, the BCA has been working with William Hewitt, Lisa Wyman and the Lois Kemp Arena staff to install a BCA Showcase cabinet where we can celebrate our history and highlight memorable residents. We are proud to announce that the Showcase has been completed and the initial display currently honours the memory of Gregory “Mayor Greg” Kazmierski. |
| |
Contact North: Free Courses & Programs
 “Get the training you need, to get the job that you want!”
Contact North is a bilingual, provincially funded non-profit organization that offers residents of Ontario, access to education and job training through online courses and programs from colleges and universities as well as many other vetted organizations, funded by various levels of government.
Our services are entirely free and used by anyone – businesses, corporations or individuals - interested in upgrading their skills, training their employees, completing professional development or changing careers altogether, as we have access to over 50,000 programs and courses, hundreds of which are free!
Whether you need to complete your high school diploma, upgrade your Microsoft skills, get a university degree or simply train your staff in the hospitality industry including for Smart Serve and Food Handler certifications, we can help you find the best avenue to learn - because meaningful employment starts with meaningful training.
Join us at the Blackburn Hamlet branch of the Ottawa Public Library (199 Glen Park Drive) for our next information session on April 17, 2025 at 6pm. |
| |
Blackburn Library Activities
There are a variety of activities scheduled at the Ottawa Public Library, Blackburn Hamlet Branch throughout the month.
- April 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 @ 10:30am Babytime
- April 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 @ 3:30pm Chess club D'échecs
- April 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 @ 10:30am Family Storytime
- April 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 @ 11am Stay & Play
- April 4 & 25 @ 2pm Lego Block Party
- April 7, 14 & 28 @ 10am Fun and Games for Adults
- April 7 & 28 @ 3pm Technology Question & Answer
- April 7, 14 & 28 @ 6pm English Conversation Group
- April 14 @ 2pm Book Chat: Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
- April 15 @ 2pm Watercolour Connect
- April 17 @ 6pm Contact North Free Online Skills Courses
- Jigsaw Drop in anytime during opening hours
More details can be found on the Ottawa Public Library Website.
|
| |
|
The BCA gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa / Le ACB remercie sincèrement la Ville d’Ottawa de son soutien financier. |
| |
|
